A Lesson from the Five Gifts for an Abundant Life Class: The African Queen

I will get back to my regular posting about the characters, plots and themes of Water Signs, but wanted to take a moment to share some of the lessons I am learning in the Five Gifts course written by Diane Harmony and offered by Unity Church of Delray Beach. The following excerpt is from author Alan Cohen, pertaining to the principle of surrender:

In “The African Queen”, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn are exhausted after a long and grueling adventure down a troublesome river. After overcoming terrible obstacles, their boat is stranded on a dry river bed, inestimably far from the ocean they have fought so hard to reach. Spent, and knowing they can do no more on their own behalf, the couple falls into a deep sleep, prepared to surrender to death. As their eyes close, the camera slowly pulls to an aerial view that reveals the ocean they have sought lies just beyond the next bend, but a few hundred yards away.

Then a miracle happens.

While the couple sleeps, rain comes and in a short time the river begins to flow again. By the time they awaken, the boat has floated to the ocean they believed was many miles away. They were closer than they thought.

You, too, may be just inches from your goal — not the miles you believe. If you have done everything that you can possibly do, it may be time for you to surrender and accept help from above. Self-made millionaire and insurance mogul A.L. Williams called his book All You Can Do Is All You Can Do But All You Can Do Is Enough. We are asked to do only what we can; beyond that, the universe is in charge.

Consider any projects or goals you have been struggling over, or about which you feel are fruitless. Write them down on a piece of paper, and place it on an altar. Make a statement of surrender in which you let go of your efforts to make something happen, and entrust the entire process to the hands of a loving God. Like the “African Queen” travelers who made their best efforts and then surrendered, you may find that the ocean is just around the next bend.

Affirmations:

“I have done all I can. Help me to find the peace I seek.”

“I turn my intention over to God, trusting that love will care for me.”